~*~ Chanel Authenticity Tips! ~*~

[Smoothoprter]

Tips posted by Jahpson (9/18/07):

These days, some fakes can almost pass for the real thing, and you have to be extra careful.

1. before bidding or purchasing, ask as many questions as possible. Especially on eBay. A seller selling authentic products will stand behind what they are selling. Also ask for more photos.

2. sometimes fakes can be easy to spot by just looking at the bag (not always the case, but some are obvious) price for example, if a "CHANEL" bag is being sold for $300. Ask yourself, would you buy a $2,000 bag and then resell it for $300? that can also help you filter out the obvious

3. Always check their reputation. there was this website where you can look up the usernames past products and the feedback given by the buyer. it dated back all the way to the start of that buyer's business. I forgot the website. will find it and post later.

ETA: www.goofbay.com and www.toolhaus.org.

[Smoothoprter]

Tips posted by lizziebell (08/10/07):

Although it's been said many times I'm sure, I'd like to say it again - especially for the CHANEL newbies. If you're planning to buy a CHANEL bag, buy brand new from an authorized dealer if at all possible. Even though I've been a die-hard CHANEL fan all my life, I had to wait until I was nearly 50 to buy my first CHANEL bag. I paid full price to buy new at a CHANEL boutique & absolutely treasure my first purchase. Then I caught wind of all the "deals" on E-Bay and thought "Wow, here's a way I can own several CHANEL bags and stay within my budget". I was sure I knew what to watch for and started scouring the deals. I ended up buying 5 more bags, but it turned out that one of them was a fake!
Even though I got good deals initially, and 4 really great authentic bags, the money I lost on the one fake made the other deals not so great in the balance. By the time I was able to confirm that I had a fake, the E-Bay seller had closed their account & I had no recourse. Although the fake looks quite authentic, and most people would never know the difference, I know, so that bag just sits in my closet... even though it's the one style I most wanted.
I learned a lesson from this experience and have vowed to only buy from an authorized dealer from hereon out, just to be 100% sure of what I'm getting. Have a great day everyone. Happy Shopping!!!

[Smoothoprter]

Tips from Beautylicious regarding Authenticating Sunglasses:

Some guidelines which you can use while searching eBay for authentic CHANEL sunglasses

On the left arm you will find 4 codes/numbers:

• Model number
• Frame color/lens color number
• Lens diameter/nose bridge length
• Bar length

On the right arm you will find the following markings:

©CHANEL® Made in Italy C€ + CC logo




There must be CHANEL laser etched in one or both lenses at the top

There must be a laser etched serial number on the middle side of the right lens


Note: on CHANEL prescription eyeglasses you will find the serial number on the right arm.

A new pair of authentic CHANEL sunglasses bought in the stores comes with:

Certificate of Authenticity
Manufacturer’s information note from Luxottica Group
CHANEL hard case (mostly in black, sometimes in pearl white cases)
CHANEL box (black hard cardboard box with white CHANEL lettering)
CHANEL cleaning cloth (comes in different colors and sizes)

Warning: I've seen CHANEL sunglasses on eBay with a serial number engraved in one lens. Don't automatically assume they're real because of the engraved serial number. These serial numbers were either put on the wrong lens or they had the wrong font. Always have them double checked on the Authenticate This CHANEL thread at the top of this forum.

[Smoothoprter]

Beautylicious tips Continued:

Here is an example of a fake pair of sunglasses. The 5076 is a popular pair and therefore highly faked.

The font of the markings on the left arm is wrong. On the left arm (where you can see the model number, color code etc.) there shouldn't be a capital C in front of the color code. On an authentic pair there should also be a dot after the c: c. and then the color code. There should also be more space between the different codes on the arm.

Fake:


Authentic, borrowed from eBay:


They also tried to copy the certificate of authenticity, but they have made a few mistakes.
In the last sentence they have made a typo: in the wofldof CHANEL and the font of the CHANEL eyewear department address is wrong.

Fake:


Authentic:

[Smoothoprter]

Tips posted by bulletproofsoul (2/19/08)

Real vs. Fake: CHANEL "Paris Souvenirs" aka "Devil Wears Prada" Pearl & Charm Neckace

Real vs. Fake: CHANEL "Paris Souvenirs" aka "Devil Wears Prada" Pearl & Charm Neckace

Hi everyone! I'm doing this as sort of a PSA to those interested in acquiring this piece since I am FED UP with all of the nasty fakes on eBay. One of the closed auctions ended for $1,100!! For a FAKE! This makes me so angry that some unsuspecting soul got taken for that much! So, here are some pics of the real and fake pieces and some pointers in telling the difference.

First of all, this is a shot from the movie. The fakers modeled their fake piece after this photo. It looks like Anne's character is wearing a double strand pearl necklace with charms. She is actually wearing TWO separate necklaces. CHANEL makes a lot of long pearl necklaces which can be wrapped several times for different looks. The Paris Souvenirs charm necklace is actually quite a bit shorter than the standard long pearls, so it can be worn with the longer strand quite seamlessly. The longer strand she is wearing is a chunkier pearl necklace with 2 charms along each side, and does not have the metal between the pearls:



Now here are some pictures that I pulled from recently completed auctions of fakes. The fakes have merged the 2 necklaces from the movie into one cheap looking piece. That is tip number 1. Tip number 2: Notice the hardware on this fake piece is silver. The real charm necklace has brushed gold hardware. Tip number 3: The charms on the fake are really cheap looking and different in "details". The fake Eiffel Tower has CCs hanging from the bottom, the real does not. The fake Rue Cambon sign looks cheap and has white lettering on some of the fakes (but has black lettering on others, still looks tacky), the real has black lettering and is reversible. The No. 5 bottle is cheap and tacky on the fake and is enclosed in a beautiful shadow box with a camellia on the real. The CC charm is white and metal on the fake, but on the real it is black and enamel, the bus is silver with a pink camellia on the fake. It is brushed gold with a white camellia on the real. Tip number 4: The "maker's mark" on the fake is sloppily attached to the back of a CC charm. On the real it is located on the bottom of one of the Eiffel Tower charms. Basically, the fake is a big mess:












^All FAKES! I'll continue on the next post with the photos of the real ones.
__________________

[Smoothoprter]

bulletproofsoul Tips Continued:

I'll give you a chance to recover from the assault on your eyes from the previous photos...

OK, here are some detailed pics of the REAL necklace:



Bus charm:











Eiffel Tower charm:

[Smoothoprter]

Last batch:

CC charm:




CHANEL/Rue Cambon sign charm:






No. 5, Eiffel Tower and Camellia shadowbox charm:








As always, if you see a charm necklace that you are interested in purchasing from eBay or another website, PLEASE cross reference with this thread and please don't hesitate to ask in the authentication thread. HTH!